CRYSTALIZED WORDS

The Voice and Soul of NXT respectively, Vic Joseph and Booker T always do a fantastic job of elevating NXT characters. Most of the NXT roster is still in a learning phase, so they may fail to properly convey some of the story beats TV-ready wrestlers easily can. This is why commentary is so important, and both Joseph and Booker understand the characters to a fundamental degree.

The match was kind of sloppy after the first two minutes or so, with Braun dominating most of it as I assume they didn’t plan on fleshing the story out. It was like when Brock worked with Omos, they opted for a simple storyline: Brock is a monster, but there are taller and bigger monsters. The appeal came in Brock being in a rare underdog role. 

Taking on Humberto Carillo of Los Garza, Royce got a chance to show off the mix of athleticism, mobility, and strength which makes him such a coveted prospect. The match featured Beto trying to outwit Royce using his speed and finesse. While he would sometimes catch Royce off guard, he’d eventually get slammed by a variety of creative moves. 

What makes Cap such a beloved babyface comes from the fact that he starts off hot with the crowd — holding the coffee cups up — and only builds on that throughout the match. He can sell any type of offense and turn it into numerous sub-stories. Whether it’s the resilient babyface who won’t go down or the fired-up, angry babyface who genuinely wants to slap the smugness off the heel.

The winner for my best match of the night was Mina Shirakawa versus Thekla for the AEW Women’s World Championship. I loved the versatility of Mina, who looks to be slotted into the top of the women’s division to fill the vacuum left by “Timeless” Toni Storm’s injury. She’s a great pick, as the crowd already loves her and she constantly makes others look good in matches. Mina’s selling ability is really underrated, she’ll give strong reactions while simultaneously delivering h